Knesset Building

The Parliament (Knesset) of Israel is housed in a prominent building known by the same name, the Knesset. The Hebrew word Knesset means "assembly." The parliament has 120 seats (members) who are elected by the citizens of Israel on a proportional representation system. The State of Israel is a democratic parliamentary republic. The Knesset has the sole power to make or amend the laws. The Knesset building was inaugurated in 1966 and is open to the public. The Knesset first convened on February 14, 1949, following theJanuary 20 elections, succeeding the Assembly of Representatives that had functioned as the Jewish community's parliament during the British Mandate era.

The Knesset sits on a hilltop in western Jerusalem in a district known as Sheikh Badr before the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, now Givat Ram. It was financed by James A. de Rothschild as a gift to the State of Israel. The cost, at the time was six million Israeli pounds. It was built on land leased from the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem. Before the construction of its permanent home, the Knesset met in the Jewish Agency building in Jerusalem, the Kessem Cinema building in Tel Aviv and the Froumine building in Jerusalem.Read more